Alternative Quilts showcases the creative possibilities that emerge when unexpected methods and materials intersect the familiar patterns and principles of quiltmaking.

Six established and emerging artists invent a new quiltmaking vocabulary, pieced together (in the best quiltmaking tradition!) from odd bits of this and that–ceramics and wire, t-shirts and twist ties, money, sheet metal and more. Fifteen works in all are featured by artists John Garrett, Earline Green, Daniela Koontz, John Lefelhocz, Amy Orr and Suzanne Pacheco. Collectively, their diverse perspectives and techniques extend strong historical threads into highly contemporary expressions of the quiltmaker’s art.

The result is a collection of alternative quilts that punch through the fabric of conventional quiltmaking to reveal what is possible when time-honored traditions are passed through an artist’s hands.